EFE facts for kids
 |
|
 |
|
| Sociedad Anónima | |
| Industry | News media |
| Predecessor |
|
| Founded | 3 January 1939 |
| Founder | Ramón Serrano Súñer |
| Headquarters | Avenida de Burgos, 8-B,
,
Spain
|
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
| Products | Wire service |
|
Number of employees
|
1,110 (2019) |
| Parent | SEPI |
Agencia EFE, S.A. (pronounced "EFE") is a very important news agency from Spain. It's the biggest Spanish-language news agency in the world. It's also the fourth largest news service globally, after big names like the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
EFE was started in 1939 by Ramón Serrano Súñer, who was a minister in the Spanish government at that time.
Agencia EFE collects and shares news for all kinds of media, including newspapers, radio, television, and the Internet. Every year, they share about three million news stories! They have 3,000 journalists from 60 different countries. These journalists work 24 hours a day from over 180 cities in 120 countries. EFE has main news centers in Madrid, Bogotá, Cairo (for Arabic news), and Rio de Janeiro (for Portuguese news).
EFE also organized the second News Agencies World Congress (NAWC) in 2007, which is a big meeting for news agencies from all over the world.
| Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
History of EFE
Early Beginnings
The story of EFE goes way back to 1865. That's when the "Correspondents Center" was created. It was the first news agency in Spain, started by a journalist named Nilo María Fabra.
In 1870, this center made a deal with a French news agency called Havas. This agreement meant the "Correspondents Center" could share Havas's international news in Spain.
Later, in 1919, the Fabra news agency was officially formed. This happened when Havas became a part-owner of the "Correspondents Center." Havas later sold its shares in 1926.
How EFE Was Founded
Agencia EFE was officially started in the city of Burgos in 1939. Burgos was the main city for the government led by Francisco Franco at the time. Ramón Serrano Súñer, who was a minister and Franco's brother-in-law, asked journalist Vicente Gallego to start the project.
On January 3, 1939, the Fabra agency agreed to create a new company called Agencia EFE S.A. The Fabra agency shared its rights and its name. This was important because it allowed the new EFE agency to join the "Club of the Allied Agencies." This club had about thirty agencies, and only one agency from each country could be a member. EFE also brought in people and resources from other news agencies that no longer existed, like Faro and Febus.
First Offices and Services
EFE's first office was in a modern building in Burgos. Its first President was Celedonio Noriega, and Vicente Gállego Castro was the first Managing Director.
In 1940, EFE moved its main office to Madrid and opened another office in Barcelona. Over the years, new leaders took charge, like Jesús Pabón and Pedro Gómez Aparicio.
In 1946, EFE started an economic news service called Comtelsa. They did this together with the British agency Reuters. EFE also began using its first machine to receive photos by wire in 1951.
Growing Internationally (1960s to 1980s)
The 1960s were a time of big growth for EFE, especially in other countries.
- In 1965, EFE opened its first office in the Americas in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- The next year, they started sending news to countries across Ibero-America (Latin America and Spain). More offices opened in South America.
- In 1969, EFE began offering small news services in English and French.
- In 1972, EFE worked with other media groups in Central America to create the Central American News Agency (ACAN).
- By 1979, EFE became a full member of the Inter American Press Association, showing its strong presence in the Americas.
In 1976, EFE published its first Stylebook. This book helped all EFE journalists around the world write news in a clear and consistent way. The EFE Journalism Awards were also created that year, which later became the King of Spain Awards.
In 1981, EFE created the Department of Urgent Spanish (DEU). This department's job was to make sure the Spanish language was used correctly in all their news reports. They worked with language experts and members of the Royal Spanish Academy.
In 1984, EFE joined the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA), which is a major European photo agency. This helped EFE share more photos.
In 1988, EFE launched EFE Data, which was the first Spanish news database. This allowed people to easily find old news stories. The EFE Foundation was also created to support research and training for future journalists. By 1989, EFE started sending its news to customers using satellites, making news delivery much faster.
1990s and the 21st Century: New Services and Digital Age
Since the 1990s, EFE has created many specialized news services.
- In 1990, they launched Efeagro (for food industry news) and Efecom (for business news).
- In 1994, Euroefe started for news about the European Union.
- In 2010, Efeverde was created for environmental news. This service has won many awards for its clear reporting.
- Later, services like Efefuturo (science and technology), Efesalud (health), Efemotor (transport), and Efetur (tourism) were added.
EFE also started new awards:
- In 1990, the Silver Ball Award for the best Ibero-American football player.
- In 1998, with UNICEF, they created awards for communication about children's rights.
- In 2004, the Don Quixote Journalism Award was created.
In 1995, EFE received the important Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. This award recognized EFE's great work, independence, and fairness in reporting.
In 1998, EFE's photo library became a digital archive, making it easier to find and use photos. In 2000, they started selling and digitizing their old photo and press archives.
In 2001, EFE launched a news service in Portuguese for Brazil. EFE also became part of a public company group called SEPI. In 2002, a new editing center opened in Miami to help adapt news for the American market.
In 2004, the ACAN-EFE service for Central America became fully integrated into EFE.
In 2007, EFE's Americas news center moved from Miami to Bogotá, Colombia. In 2008, EFE-Galicia started providing news in the Galician language.
In 2014, EFE moved to a new main office in Madrid. That year, the agency celebrated its 75th anniversary with many traveling exhibitions and international conferences.
In 2015, EFE increased its ownership in the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) to almost 50%. EFEAgro celebrated 25 years.
In 2016, the EFE Museum was opened. EFE also received the Eisenhower Award. In 2017, EFE started a multimedia service in English for Asia with EPA and other European news agencies.
In 2018, the Spanish government recognized EFE's budget as a "Service of General Economic Interest," which helped increase its public funding.
Urgent Spanish Department
In 1980, EFE created the Department of Urgent Spanish. Its goal was to make sure the Spanish language was used correctly and consistently in all news reports. This department included linguists and philologists, along with a Style Advisory Council made up of members from the Royal Spanish Academy. Their main tool was the Urgent Spanish Manual (MEU), which is a very popular guide for using Spanish correctly.
In 2005, this department became the Urgent Spanish Foundation, also known as Fundéu BBVA. It continues to promote the correct use of Spanish in media.
See also
In Spanish: Agencia EFE para niños
- List of news agencies
